May 9 - Risky Responsibility, II
Scripture focus: Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived. Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. Be very sure now, you who have been trained to a self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those who have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experience. Galatians 6:1-6 (The Message)
Blaming others is as natural as falling off a log. Anyone can find a reason to avoid personal responsibility – many times the reason is compelling. Once established, the habit of looking outside ourselves to discover the reason for our dis-ease, discomfort, and disappointment is automatic though dangerous. In an effort to avoid taking personal responsibility for a problem, we unwittingly remove ourselves from the opportunity to become part of the solution to whatever problem plagues us. After all, if it is someone else's fault, how in the world can we assist in creating change? Expecting others to take the fall means that we are giving up our right to get a vote in finding a solution. I think this is too high a price to pay for a few minutes of false comfort and finger pointing. Recovering our life will require us to learn the challenging but freeing skill set of accepting personal responsibility.
Skill set #4 amplified: Learn how to take personal responsibility in all areas of our life. We are responsible for what we do, how we feel, what we think, where we go, how we love, what we dream, when we repent, how we work, how we play...every single dimension of life.
When we choose to accept our part in the grand epic adventure of life, we are in essence accepting the risk of living in community. If our problems are always someone else's fault, or burden, we isolate. But if we man up and say, "this is my burden," we're entering into community with others. Only a person who believes in the possibility of a loving community will make this decision.
I can almost hear the reader sucking wind. Loving community? Well, if you only knew...we mutter to ourselves. I know there are plenty of reasons to doubt in the goodness of our fellow man. But skill set four is asking that you set the whining aside, and pick up your cross and follow Jesus. You make the decision to become a loving member of community and leave the rest to God. People who contribute to their community: respect self and others, identify and restrain from hurtful behaviors, listen to what others say, notice the effects of our behavior on them and are willing to try to change, take action, live out the core values of honesty and dignity, are willing to love and be loved, and rigorously apply the insights gained in the transformation journey.
Recommended reading: Deuteronomy 4 - 6
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